"Feelings are like chemicals, the more you analyze them the worse they smell." ~ Charles Kingsley

Good morning. I welcome you to another day and another edition, this one, tagged with this identifier, Thursday, July 19, 2018. It happened again. Yep. I ended up playing myself in a live and in person, (whatever that means), in another episode of Live PD. That's right. Wednesday morning I was doing my thing, driving down the road, on my way to work. A patrol car pulled up behind me. I thought the officer might need to get somewhere, therefore, I moved from the outside to the middle lane. He followed me. Then it was lights on. He pulled me over. Officer: "Good morning sir. I assume you are on your way to work." Me: "That would be correct." Officer: "I thought so since this looks like a work truck and might I say it appears to be in excellent shape for its age." Me: "It's not a work truck but it is how I get to work and that is where I am headed." Officer: "The reason I pulled you over was because you failed to signal when you changed lanes." Me: "Sorry. I thought you might have needed to be somewhere and that's why I was getting out of your way." Officer: "Thanks for your courtesy. If I can check your license and insurance, I'll let you get back on your way with a warning." Me: "Thanks." Officer: "Okay. Everything is good. You can get back on your way now and please drive carefully." Me: "Thanks, here's my card for you to have as a souvenir." Officer: "Wow! That is so neat and it says, the_realsanta@yahoo.com." Me: "That is correct. We did the Blue Elf toy program last year for your department." Officer: "Really? Take care and have a good day."

That officer was very nice, however, I wasn't happy that he added 15-20 minutes to my commute. It's one thing to be up on the wheel watching for live reenactments of the Mutual of Omaha wildlife series, but, being pulled over at 4 a.m. is a little much if you ask me. In fact, I have enough on my mind already. Today, the wife leaves me, again. And, I stay somewhat perplexed when I see a deer on the side of the road and they are looking longingly at whatever it is they see on the other side of the road. This happened to me twice this week. Once with a pretty good sized buck and the other was a doe. They just stand there. Transfixed. It makes me want to shout out, "What in the world are you looking at?" These are the things that plague my thoughts. Along with, "Thanks for your courtesy and oh, by the way, you have a nice old truck, but, while I'm here I might as well check to see if you are a serial killer." As you can tell, these little incidents rarely bother me at all. The wife says I have developed a noticeable twitching of my head. I ask you, given all the delays and dilemmas I face, isn't it a wonder I'm not being sent to the funny farm? (Don't write to me. Funny Farm at one time was a euphemism for a mental hospital.) The police encounter incident reminded me of that country song by Brandy Clark, "Stripes". The person in the song didn't commit the crime because the lyrics say, "I hate stripes and orange ain't my color."

Maybe that police stop helped me to avoid a problem further down the road. Could be. You know. The person misses the plane because of traffic only to find out the plane crashed. They were so angry but that soon turned to euphoric joy. I will tell you this. Those police vehicle lights are really bright. They actually hurt my eyes. What's up with that? Yes. I agree. I am thankful he didn't turn the siren on. There were a few people that passed by. Well, at least I gave them something to talk about. "Look, that old dude, he probably doesn't even know where he is going." ~ "At least they are getting the drunks off the road, even early in the morning." ~ "He probably stole that truck. I bet that beard is all matted up." ~ "Who does that fellow think he is? Santa Claus? ~ I suppose when it's all said and done, I'm just a walking public service provider. I hope everyone knows that I'm just having a little fun today. Hopefully, at my own expense. If I had gotten a ticket I most likely would have had a whole different story to tell. The unfairness of it all. And, just to be clear, while I didn't signal a lane change, doesn't it make sense to get out of the way quickly of a police vehicle riding on your bumper? I thought I would share that one just in case I have to tell it to the judge. Enjoy the rest of your day. Say a prayer for the wife and the team traveling on a mission trip. Say a prayer for those left behind. Namely, me! May God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ...More later.